A significant portion of the equipment, goods and merchandise shipped in this country are transported by tractor trailer rigs. Often due to shipping schedules and deadlines or in an effort to avoid peak traffic hours, shipping by tractor trailer is completed during hours of darkness. In fact, in recent years night time shipping activity has become more and more common.
Many of the larger trucking companies have terminal operations including classifying yards, dock facilities, management offices and storage sheds. Upon arriving at a terminal, a tractor is typically operated to position the connected trailer at a specific bay or dock. The tractor may then be disconnected from that trailer and reconnected to another trailer at a different dock or bay prior to continuing its journey.
Each time a tractor and trailer are connected/disconnected, a number of operations are required. More specifically, besides the mechanical connection between the tractor and trailer there is an electrical connection through a flexible electrical cable providing power from the tractor to the running lights and tail lights of the trailer. There are also air glad hands for connecting the operating systems of the tractor and trailer. This connection allows, for example, the operator of the tractor to apply the tractor brakes and trailer brakes together as required during driving.
While terminal areas are typically well lighted, it must be appreciated that visibility in the deck plate area at the rear of the tractor where these connections are completed is quite limited during hours of darkness. This is because despite the overhead lighting shadows are typically cast by the tractor and trailer over the deck plate. The shadows reduce visibility making it difficult to connect and disconnect the control lines between the tractor and trailer. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the reduced visibility significantly increases the risk that individuals working in the deck area may trip over an unseen object in the shadows and fall resulting in a substantial injury.
In order to address this problem, many individuals utilize battery powered flash lights to illuminate the work area. While quite effective for this purpose, it must be appreciated that this approach suffers a number of drawbacks. More particularly, the batteries in the flash lights run down after extended use and replacement batteries are not always readily available. It should also be appreciated that a flash light may be misplaced and hence it is not always available when needed. Further, it should be appreciated that the flash light is typically manipulated in one hand. Accordingly, the individual has only one free hand to be used to maintain his or her balance and/or manipulate tools and/or control lines. As such, it should be appreciated that flash light utilization suffers from a number of significant drawbacks.
A need, therefore, exists for a method and/or apparatus addressing these problems. Preferably, a light should be provided in the deck plate area of a tractor that is adapted to illuminate the area to allow the necessary work to be completed in a safe and efficient manner when connecting/disconnecting the tractor from a trailer. The light should be an integral part of the tractor so as to always be available when needed. The light should also be versatile so that the operator can direct it as required to complete any appropriate operations including, for example, maintenance to the breaker box of a trailer. These ends may be achieved by mounting a light source on the pigtail connector of the tractor that feeds electrical power to the trailer.